The Middle (tv program)

As Dallas Jenkins led 50-plus cast and crew members filming in the Elgin, Geneva and Aurora areas over the past four weeks, it was hard to distinguish that operation from that of a full-blown, high-budget Hollywood flick. "The most important message in the church deserves the most influential media in the world," proclaims the 39-year-old movie director Jenkins, of Elgin. The five box trucks (one marked "Wardrobe"), the three RVs (one marked "Chair and Makeup"), the giant lights, the electronic clapboards, the lines of portable toilets were reminiscent of setups from years past to film parts of "Hoffa," "Dennis the Menace,"...

Related "The Middle (tv program)" Articles

As Dallas Jenkins led 50-plus cast and crew members filming in the Elgin, Geneva and Aurora areas over the past four weeks, it was hard to distinguish that operation from that of a full-blown, high-budget Hollywood flick.
"The most important message...

If you thought you saw a TV star wandering the streets of Elgin, Geneva or Aurora over the past four weeks, you may not be imagining things.
Movie director Dallas Jenkins, director of the Kevin Sorbo/KristySwanson film "What If?", has been...

Neil Flynn, who stars on the ABC sitcom "The Middle," was in town earlier this week, filming a small role for an indie feature based out of Elgin.
"The Resurrection of Gavin Stone" is the story of a former child star "stuck in...

Thirty-two years ago Charna Halpern approached Del Close with an offer. He was already a renowned director in the world of comedy, and working at Second City. She had just launched the ImprovOlympic and wanted him to teach a class.
"I heard about...

Eden Sher does such a good job portraying Patricia Heaton's awkward teen daughter Sue Heck on the ABC series "The Middle" that people often don't recognize her in public. "That's good, right?" said the 19-year-old actress. "On a...

Even in their 80s, Dick and Jerry Van Dyke still have their big-brother, little-brother dynamic.
"I looked up to him as a kid," said Jerry, 83, the more gregarious of the two, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Luther in the 1989-97...

Families of the world, unite. It's safe to return to the television, together.
For years, television has been criticized by many for being too violent, too sex-obsessed, too adult. The official "family viewing hour" disappeared in 1977, and...

With about 36 Emmy Award categories up for grabs each year, it's clear that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences tries to be comprehensive in recognizing TV talent. But its net has some holes in it: Each year, individuals and shows deserving of...

The subject is comedy. If it is not exactly true that it "can't get no respect," to quote the comic, it does get less than it deserves.
It has become commonplace to say that we are living in a New Golden Age of Television, or a Platinum Age...

"American Idol" posted a weekly ratings decline Wednesday, according to early numbers from Nielsen. Still, Fox held off CBS to win Wednesday night in the key viewing demographic.
The veteran singing competition drew an average of...

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine." Before you vacuum up the chip crumbs from the sofa and wipe down the seven-layer dip smears from the coffee table, catch the freshman comedy that swept the Golden Globes in a special post-Super Bowl slot Sunday night. Its...

The most wonderful time of the year also worked out for NBC in the ratings Wednesday night, with the holiday specials "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" and a "Saturday Night Live Christmas" combining to win the night among...

"Dr. Who," "Dr. Who" and more "Dr. Who." By now even those few Americans still disavowing their inner geeks and/or Anglophiles must know the British sci-fi classic "Dr. Who" is about to celebrate its 50th...

ABC's multi-Emmy-winning comedy "Modern Family" fell to its lowest rating in the key 18-49 age demographic since 2009, according to early numbers from Nielsen. CBS won Wednesday night in the demographic and in total viewership, with...

With another comedy series Emmy in hand, "Modern Family" returned for a fifth season Wednesday as the night's highest-rated show, according to early numbers from Nielsen.
The season premiere of the ensemble comedy following the lives of a...

"The Hollow Crown" (PBS, Fridays). Here is my man Shakespeare back again, and not a moment too soon -- the best man, to steal a line from the writer himself, "either for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical,...

Coming off a disappointing TV season, ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee is ratcheting up his "four quadrant" plan to boost the network's fortunes.
In ABC lingo, that means fielding prime-time shows that appeal to women and men, young...

This year's Emmy nominations reflected a lot of change in TV. Netflix got creative validation; there are more female-led dramas than ever. But one rule has become calcified: No zombies need apply.
Even as hordes of network executives and publicists...

Emmy nominations arrive next week and, with them, the very real possibility that voters might dodge the same-old same-old and include some of the season's fantastic freshman class. Who might make the cut? And who should? We gathered The Envelope's...